Outside of John James Audubon, there is no more notable artist/ornithologist than England's John Gould. He is known for his outstanding illustrated books on the birds of Europe and Australia. However, he did occasionally illustrate some American birds, and some of these are seen in A monograph of the odontophorinae, or partridges of America, issued 1844-1850. Gould visited collections all over Europe, though not America, to see specimens of these birds. The book is dedicated to Charles Lucien Bonaparte, nephew of the previously mentioned Napoleon Bonaparte, who settled in America and was the country's leading pre-Audubon ornithologist. Item 16. £18,500 (US $26,680).

"H.B.P." drew illustrations of animals too, but hardly with the realism displayed by John Gould. Item 29 is a copy of A Happy Pair, by Frederick Edward Weatherly, circa 1890. This was the first work illustrated by "H.B.P.," an unknown children's illustrator and later writer. It would be over a decade before H.B.P., (Helen) Beatrix Potter, would have her breakthrough with The Tale of Peter Rabbit, still a children's favorite today. However, if you go back to this earlier book, the illustrations of this harebrained couple are unmistakably those of Beatrix Potter. £30,000 (US $43,313).

Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books may be reached at +44 (0)20 7493 0876 or rarebooks@shapero.com. Their website is www.shapero.com.

You will find many of Bernard J. Shapero's books listed in "Books For Sale" on this site. Click here.